FAMILY members of a VC winner who died in the arms of his commanding officer at Gallipoli joined ex-service people and civic leaders to honour his memory on the 103rd anniversary of his death.

And, in an amazing coincidence, two brothers who fell on exactly the same day, with the same surname as Able Seaman William Williams, were also remembered at the Chepstow ceremony, by their sister’s grand-daughter.

Around 40 people gathered beside the town war memorial on Anzac Day last Wednesday (April 25) to lay wreaths on the submarine gun donated to the town in memory of local hero AS Williams–the first ever seaman to be awarded the VC posthumously.

Gordon Pidsley, from Chepstow, whose great-great grandmother was the VC winner’s mother, joined his daughter Emma Gudgeon in paying tribute to “a brave man who sacrificed his life for others.”

Mr Pidsley, 64, said: “For one hour every year, we come here to think about what people like AS Williams and his generation did for the rest of us.

“If he and his fellow servicemen hadn’t done that in the two World Wars, we wouldn’t have the freedom we enjoy today. We live in relative luxury now, and the young need to understand what was done by men like William to protect their freedom.

“The submarine gun was donated to the town in his honour by George V, and to be part of his family, it fills me with great pride to stand here today remembering his bravery.

“One of my oldest memories from when I was a young child was my mum showing me his name on the cenotaph, and we want to pass down what he did.”

Daughter Emma added: “It means a lot to us as a family that people remember what William did. If we don’t remember what they did to protect our freedoms, then we can’t expect the younger generations to.

“I’ll definitely be bringing my children Rachel-Paige, aged seven, and Rhys, three, to remember him in the future.”

AS Williams’ commanding officer described the 34-year-old as the “bravest sailor he had ever met” after he braved gun fire by diving into the water to help troops ashore before being killed by a shell.

He stood chest deep in the sea alongside the commander of the HMS River Clyde, Captain Edward Unwin, and two other sailors as men died all around them, holding a rope to keep the drifting lighters together as two battalions tried to disembark at Gallipoli’s V beach.

The sailor later became one of only 39 people to receive the VC in the Gallipoli campaign, which saw 100,000 Allied lives lost.

Leesa Cartwright, an Australian-born puppeteer, who lived all over the world before settling in Chepstow five years ago, also remembered the sacrifice of her great-uncles Christopher and Leslie Williams at the service, which was led by Rev Philip Averay.

“They were from Ballarat, were in the 14th and 15th Battalions, and died on the first day of the battle,” she said. “I felt a sense of the sadness of war at the service, but also pride at the honour and integrity of those who fought for justice and truth.

“I’m now hoping to research what happened to my grandmother’s brothers, as I think they may even have been on the same boat as AS Williams.

“I am also making many remembrance poppies in red and some in purple, to remember animals, for Monmouth’s 5,000 knitted and crocheted poppies appeal, and want to put on a Gallipoli puppet presentation for schoolchildren for the centenary of the end of the First World War.”